The Friar, Romeo's friend and assistant of Juliet in her final plan, changed the course of events by helping the young couple in their plans to marry and assisting Juliet in her scheme to be with Romeo once again. If the Friar had not agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, it is possible that the couple would have given up on the idea of being together. On the other hand, Romeo and Juliet may have been fated to marry and would have partaken in the ceremony one way or another no matter what the Friar's decision.
If the Friar had not suggested his dramatic plan to the desperate Juliet, she may never have seen Romeo again and the couple would have stayed alive, albeit in depression! Perhaps, however, if Juliet had not had the chance to see Romeo again she would have committed suicide anyway. The couple may have been doomed regardless of the Friar's decision to involve Juliet in his elaborate plot.
Tybalt, the cousin of Juliet and hotheaded enemy of the Montague household, changed the course of events by agreeing to fight Romeo in town. If Tybalt had not deliberately started to make fun of Mercutio, the two would not have got into their duel and Romeo may have been safe from the threat of banishment.
Romeo, the youngest son of Lord and Lady Montague and Juliet's husband, was in fact a major influence on the events leading up to the deaths of himself and his young wife. Romeo acts too hastily throughout the play: he shouldn't have asked Juliet to marry him so suddenly, and he should have thought more carefully before rushing back to Verona after hearing of Juliet's death. Romeo also acted violently and without thinking when he killed Tybalt and, later, Paris. Perhaps if he had thought about what he was doing a little more before acting, the deaths of him and his fair Juliet would have been averted.
Juliet, the beloved daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet and Romeo's lover, was also a major influence on the events leading up to the deaths of her and her husband. Juliet shouldn't have deceived and disobeyed her parents, and, like Romeo, she was too hasty in rushing into marriage. She was already engaged to marry Paris at the time of the ball, and until then, had been very happy with her parent’s choice. If Juliet had not been so fickle as to fall in love with Romeo on the night of the masquerade, they both may still have kept their lives.
The theme of fate is presented to us very early on in the play. Shakespeare chooses to use a prologue in the traditional style of a Greek tragedy. This presents to us the relevant information that makes it easier for us to understand what is going on in the play. The dramatic irony that this causes definitely pulls the audience into the story as they can see the broader picture of Romeo and Juliet’s path. The most significant line in the prologue is ‘a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life’. This suggests to us that Romeo and Juliet will be governed by fate, a force often linked to the movements of stars, which was much more accepted in the time that Shakespeare produced this play. This important quote also tells us the ending of the play. I think the way that Shakespeare reveals the end of the play at the very beginning is not a let down but prompts the questions of how? And why? The prologue also reveals the ancient and inexplicable grudge between the two families. It may have been possible in the eyes of fate that the lover’s death was purely to resolve their parent’s feud. The first scene of the play reinforces the depth of this vendetta, as the conflict even stretches even to the servants of the families.
Upon their first encounter, Romeo and Juliet remain ignorant to the fact that they are the children of feuding families. Actually, the lovers meet by coincidence. Romeo agrees to attend the Capulet ball because he hopes to see Rosaline, and he consistently claims that no other woman can impress him. On the other hand, Juliet attends the ball to meet Count Paris and to see if she can love him. Before entering the ball, Romeo experiences a sense of dread. He declares, "My mind misgives / Some consequence yet hanging in the stars / Shall bitterly begin his fearful Date / With this night's revels, and expire the term / of a despised life clos'd in my breast / By some vile forfeit of untimely death" (I, iv, ll.106-110). During the evening, Romeo encounters Juliet, and the two become enamoured with each other. Upon Romeo's departure, Juliet murmurs to herself, "If he be married, / My Grave is like to be my Wedding Bed" (I, iv, ll. 249-250). Although Romeo is unmarried, Juliet is unaware of the fact that he is a Montague. For Juliet, loving a Montague may be a more serious crime than loving a married man. As the play continues, the omens of the two lovers prove disastrously true.
The morning following the ball, Romeo visits Friar Lawrence to tell of his engagement to Juliet and to ask for the friar's advice. The friar is at first sceptical of Romeo's infatuation with Juliet, but then he realizes that the love between Romeo and Juliet presents an opportunity to end the quarrel between the two families (II, ii, ll.91-92). He agrees to secretly marry them that afternoon. The well-intentioned friar does not realize that by agreeing to assist the young lovers, he has sealed their fate.
However, during the previous evening, Tybalt recognized the voice of Romeo, a Montague, and became enraged. Although Lord Capulet refused to allow bloodshed that night, Tybalt swore that he would have revenge for the insult. He hissed, "I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall, / Now seeming Sweet, convert to bitt'rest Gall" (I, iv, ll. 206-207). Tybalt's words soon prove true. When Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel, Romeo refuses because Tybalt is now his cousin. Mercutio is embarrassed by his friend's cowardice and battles with Tybalt. Romeo tries to intervene in their battle, and his intervention provides Tybalt an opportunity to stab Mercutio. Infuriated by Mercutio's death, Romeo abandons his passive temperament and declares, "Away to Heaven, respective lenity, / And fire end fury be my conduct now" (III, i, ll.130-131). Ultimately, Tybalt is slain at Romeo's hand. After murdering his cousin, Romeo cries, "O I am Fortune's Fool" (III, i, l.143). Indeed, Romeo is fortune's fool, for if he had controlled his fiery temper and acted reasonably, he would not have jeopardized his chance for happiness with Juliet.
The death of Tybalt at Romeo's hand further complicates the situation between the two lovers. Romeo is exiled to Mantua, and Juliet is devastated because her husband is banished. However, Lord and Lady Capulet believe that their daughter's sorrow is for her cousin's death. To end Juliet's woe, they arrange for her to be married to Paris immediately. When Friar Lawrence hears of these plans he gives Juliet a potion which will give her the appearance of death. This way, she will avoid adultery and will awaken two days later to be united with her lover in Mantua. Friar Lawrence writes a letter, which explains the situation to Romeo. The letter is then given to Friar John, another Franciscan, to deliver to Romeo. However, Friar John is quarantined along his way to Mantua, so Romeo never receives his letter. Instead, Romeo is informed that his wife is dead. This horrible mishap propels Romeo to take his own life.
Tragedy continues to unfold when Romeo firmly decides to commit suicide. He acts with decisiveness and a swiftness that are uncharacteristic of him. With unfaltering resolution, Romeo purchases a dram of poison and arrives at the Capulet tomb. There, he slays Paris, and claims that both of their fates were "written sorrow misfortune's book" (V, iii, l.83). In Juliet's tomb, Romeo states that "here / will I set up my everlasting rest / And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars" (V, iii, ll.111-113). Romeo then swallows the poison and dies next to his beloved. Moments later, Juliet awakens to discover that her husband is dead, and furthermore, his lips are still warm. Distraught, she stabs herself through the heart. Had Romeo not acted with such sudden certainty, he would have lived to watch his wife awaken.
In conclusion, to us in modern day life the fact that Romeo and Juliet’s ending was completely due to fate is unbelievable and just a romantic fairy story. However when Shakespeare wrote this play, his audience would have been more concerned about the role of fate in their lives. Although this piece does not necessarily stand up to the depth of character and meaning of his other tragedy I think this play was a very well written enjoyable piece for his target audience.